The Stash

When I began this endeavor, I did not anticipate spending much money. My husband and I like to budget and keep costs down. Back in May, I went to a SHEM sponsored conference. It was so tempting to buy books then, but I went purely to check out materials. My thoughts were "man you could go overboard on this". There were so many different subjects to teach. There was even a Kindergarten chemistry curriculum. I enjoyed the conference. I found some neat ideas for math games. I did not buy the curriculum, but I will definitely used the ideas. Slowly over this summer, I have accumulated quite a stash! It is currently hiding in the closet as I finish scraping wallpaper in the schoolroom.

What it all comes down to is this:
We will be using Saxon Math. I found a used teacher's guide and workbook 2 at a Christian used book store in Springfield called Redeemed. I could go wild in that store! I got quite a deal on the used books. We will be using their First Grade level books since Hannah has a grasp on the Kindergarten level math.

Next, we will be learning English. Now there are many things that go into Kindergarten English. I have a phonics book with monthly assessments. I want to teach Hannah phonics since she has a good grasp on sight reading. There will be reading time included during the day as well. My mother-in-law gave us a whole set of McGuffy Readers. I'm excited about using them. You cannot go wrong with the ole tride and true right?

Now, we do not want to get too carried away, but I thought that now would be a time to introduce a new language into Hannah's vocabulary. I am a bit afraid that it could interfere with her reading, but we will see how it goes. I bought a Spanish workbook. We will work on this from time to time, but the goal here is exposure. We can get into more in depth learning as she gets older. One great website I found was onlinefreespanish.com. It has some great games for kids. It reminds me of one of my favorites starfall.com. Hannah learned some of the basics of reading from this website. I hope she learns just as much from the Spanish site.

Next, there is science. I found a book with several experiments and season related activities through mailbox. They have several good workbooks that I purchased. My goal with science is to be hands on. I want the curriculum to be balanced with worksheets and activities. I think Hannah will be more excited about learning if we do hands on science. One of the activities we will be doing is raising a butterfly. I found a kit at insectlore.com for 20.00. They have a really cute website as well. Originally, I did pay 20.00, but j.christophers had the kit for 5 dollars less. I hope you check them out. I went into the store and found some super cute toys there.
Finally, there is social studies. Again we used mailbox who had many activities for social studies. I also picked up their geography workbook. You can find out how to order at www.theeducationcenter.com. I know all of this may sound like a bit much, but I thought why not? One day I sat around thinking of activities, and I came up with this: In the fall, we will go to the zoo. I will print out a map of the continents and bring a sticker book. While walking around the zoo, I will teach Hannah about where the animals are from. As we walk along, we will place stickers on each continent. There is a science lesson and geography lesson all wrapped up into one!

I think we are going to enjoy homeschooling. Well, I must be off to scrape more wallpaper. August is fast approaching, and I want the room to be ready. I will post some before and after pictures next time.